Alabama

Four unsettling comments

The Birmingham News convened a panel of community leaders to discuss the future of Birmingham

The Birmingham News convened a panel of community leaders in
April of 2011 to discuss the future of Birmingham. Included were
corporate CEO’s, non-profit professionals, and top political leaders.

Each panelist made his/her remarks and then questions or comments were solicited from the audience.

After
several audience members spoke, I took my turn. I said, “Birmingham’s
biggest obstacle is poor government structure and unless we change that
structure, we are stuck.”

I mentioned that we’re in competition
with cities such as Nashville, Jacksonville, and Charlotte that have the
advantage of a unified county-city government. But I added that the
problem is much broader, including our lack of home rule.

I
believe most people in the room thought I was saying our only solution
is for Birmingham to combine the city and the county…which may or may
not be the best answer. I just know we have to do something differently.

Here are the four responses I received from the panel and the audience…

Response
#1: A corporate CEO on the panel said, “David, I respectfully disagree
with you. It’s not likely we’ll ever get support for a unified
government. We need to put our effort and resources into things that
are actually possible.”

Response #2: A political leader on the
panel said, “It’s a good thing our county and city aren’t combined.
Many of our county officials are in jail.” (Of course, the reason they
are in jail is Jefferson County didn't have three branches of
government—allowing outlaw Commissioners to do what they want with
unchecked authority).

Response #3: A well respected member of the
audience responded, “Birmingham’s time has passed to make meaningful
changes in government structure. We need to concentrate on the items we
can control.”

Response #4: From a Mayor from one of the smaller
municipalities in Jefferson County. (There are 37 cities in Jefferson
County.) “He came to me after the session with a smile on his face and
said, “What are you trying to do, throw me under the bus for the
betterment of our community?”

Maybe combining the city with the
county is a good idea; maybe it’s not. But should we toss it or any
other idea out because it might be difficult to achieve?

I believe
one of the saddest lines in the world is, "Oh come now--be realistic."
The best parts of the world were not fashioned by those who were
realistic.

David Sher's goal is to create a conversation on how to fix our fragmented and dysfunctional local government.